


If I say “I’m fine” enough, then I’ll believe it

by CsjLam



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I project onto Eva a lot, Let these four be friends, She/they Kate and Eva because yes, mostly just a vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29086125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CsjLam/pseuds/CsjLam
Summary: Through some miracle, Eva gets a scholarship from Giles Corey High School. Not wanting to let this opportunity go to waste, she works through the night in an attempt to burn the midnight oil.She keeps on saying she’s fine, but in reality, some of the tigers know that she isn’t.
Relationships: Chess & Eva Sanchez (We Are The Tigers), Chess & Kate (We Are The Tigers), Farrah & Eva Sanchez (We Are The Tigers), Kate & Eva Sanchez (We Are The Tigers)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	If I say “I’m fine” enough, then I’ll believe it

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy my vent fic written in just under a few hours because I was just very sad ;-;

With only the sounds of some random song she found on the internet and the faint ticking of a clock to accompany them, Eva Sanchez sat alone, in the middle of their room. The only things in their vision were the pile of textbooks, worksheets and a couple of different notebooks on their desk. Even though it was late at night, the flier still persisted and kept on studying, all of this work for only one goal.

Through some miracle, life decided to throw them a bone. She didn’t expect any of this to happen, but yet here she was, six pages into another fresh new notebook at three in the morning.

What happened? Well, just a month earlier, a quite prestigious school had sent them an offer, one she could never deny. Giles Corey High School was famous for quite a few things, one of which being their cheer team. The team was infamous for their stunt fail last year, Eva saw it in person, and she truly pitied the team for all the comments they’ve received. However, this somehow paved a way for the flier, the school extended a scholarship to Eva, and here she was.

She’d do anything to stay in the school, she doesn’t know if she’ll be kicked out if her test scores drop, she doesn’t know if she’ll be expelled if she didn’t meet the school’s expectations, so she had to try their best. This great opportunity arose, and she won’t waste any of it.

The team she was invited to join was....special....to say the least. None of the members were cooperative. The captain seemed like she was trying her best to get everything back on track, get everyone to make up, but that just sounds like an impossible mission at this point. The self-proclaimed “co-captain” just seemed intimidating, but after a while of listening to her arguing with the other teammates, Eva has gotten used to it. She’ll just have to adjust to this new team, their first impressions weren’t a great start, but things must get better, right?

The rest of the team just seemed like chaos reincarnated onto this mortal plane.

That’s....not a big challenge. She’ll get through the year. It’s fine. Keep up with the schoolwork and she’ll certainly make it through!

With their self-coined “shut up and cheer” mentality, Eva survived the first few practices. She kept to themselves, and just followed the instructions given by Riley, the captain. Most of it went on without a hitch, or that’s what Eva could register. In reality, the tension between everyone was insufferable.

Even with all that tension, Eva got a few casual exchanges with some of the others. One of those being with the snarky and sarcastic Junior, Kate. It wasn’t anything serious, Kate just complimented the pride pin on her jacket, not a big deal at all. Another one of her small exchanges were with Kate’s friend, Chess. Eva did recognise her as the one who dropped the flier from last year’s failed stunt, but of course she didn’t mention it in front of the girl.

Finally, there was this one sophomore who honestly surprised Eva when she first approached them.

During some of the exercises, Eva got paired up with Farrah, who she remembered was the one who got dropped. The girl kept a blank expression on her face throughout the entire practice, and even though Eva didn’t know exactly what was going through the sophomore’s mind, she just seemed reluctant to attend all of these practices.

Out of everyone in the team, those three caught Eva’s eye the most.

Now’s not the time to think about them. She has to work. Eva used every second of her time like it was their last. After yet another cup of coffee, she returned back to their desk to focus on their assignments.

The life of a student wasn’t ideal, but she just has to push through. As long as she can end up with a good report card, then all of this will be worth it. She’s sure of it.

Who cares if their hand ached? What good will it bring if she voiced out their troubles? She knows she isn’t trying hard enough. There’s always room to improve, no matter how small that is.

Despite feeling exhausted and burnt out, she is still working. It will be worth it, that’s what she keeps telling themselves.

One day, their climb will end with a feeling of success, it will end in happiness.

Today isn’t that day, so she has to continue.

Just as she was about to leave their seat for a quick stretch, a cold wave hit their body. She turned to the only window in their room, and found the source of the wind. The window opened, and a figure was leaning onto the window frame with a mischievous grin. The figure had a messy ponytail, a blue hoodie and a familiar face. If their vision wasn’t so blurry from all the studying they’ve done, then Eva would’ve recognised the person instantly.

“Knock knock! Sorry for coming in through the window, dreadful etiquette, I know!” The figure announced with a smile, and someone outside the window had responded. “Really, Kate? Quoting a musical? Well, I guess we learn something new everyday. Didn’t know you were a theatre kid.”

Kate then whirled back to the person outside, countering their tease, “how would you know it’s from a musical, Farrah?”

“I just heard it from someone else! I don’t even know who says that line!” The girl outside put their hands up to defend herself from Kate’s accusation, but just as those two were about to get into another small debate, Eva’s vision had finally been adjusted back to normal. Even then, that didn’t clear up any of her current confusion.

What the hell were two of their teammates doing outside their window, at three in the morning?

Just as she was about to speak up, another voice came from outside the window.

_Oh god, there’s a third one._

“Katie, either climb through the window or come back out, you’re blocking the....entrance.”

Well, this might as well happen. The night Eva originally planned to be filled with catching up on schoolwork and assignments suddenly turned into dealing with three of your new cheer team teammates visiting you...through the window?

Eva tilted their head at the sight of Kate hopping onto the floor of their room, acting like this is all a normal stunt she regularly pulls.

“Um...hi?” Eva spoke up, with a very noticeable hint of bewilderment in their tone.

Kate perked their head up after jumping down, but then proceeded to step back in surprise after taking a look at Eva’s room and Eva themselves.

“How...long have you been up?” Kate asked the flier, who didn’t seem amused at this sudden visit. “You’re asking me that when you’re the one who’s breaking in my room...in the morning?”

“She really didn’t think this one through.” The third member of this group popped her head in through the window and chuckled out.

“Chess, I did have a plan—”

“One that involves climbing in through my window?” Eva crossed their arms and cut off the other’s reply with an exasperated sigh.

“Uh....” Kate trailed off, and after a few seconds of thinking, she finally came up with a response.

“....yes?”

Before Kate could continue with an explanation, Farrah nudged Chess aside, then provided a far more simple explanation.

“The dumbass wanted to check up on you, dragged their girlfriend with them because she couldn’t get anyone to drive them here, and then this happened.”

“For the last time, Chess is not my girlfriend!” Kate yelled out, then spun back to face the girl outside the window, who had a smirk up her face after getting a reaction out of the other.

“The what are you doing here?” Eva asked Farrah, who swiftly responded. “Had nothing better to do, this sounded fun, so I tagged along.”

“That wasn’t what you said—”

“Look, I appreciate the concern, but I’m doing fine! I’m just up late for some homework, nothing much!” Eva told the three before they get sidetracked and went into another topic.

After that, Eva began walking back towards their desk, but just as she was about to return to their work, a hand reached out from behind, causing them to spin back to face the three.

“Are you sure? You don’t look so well...” Kate blurted out after moving closer to Eva.

The flier stopped to ponder about their question for just a moment.

Was she doing well? Eva thought so. Sure, she wished she could have a break every now and then, but everyone does. She just has to get all of their work out of the way first. Complaining won’t do them any good, just take the chance and make it through the year. She’ll get there soon.

She could keep saying that she’s fine, even if she truly wasn’t. She didn’t want to be a bother, and dealing with that is just a whole other waste of time.

She can’t waste this opportunity.

“Yeah. I’m okay, really.” Eva told the other, who still didn’t believe them.

“Could you come with us? I promise it’s nothing bad, just consider it as a small break.”

If you asked Eva to define what a “small break” is, she would’ve replied that a quick two minutes of leaving their seat and scroll through social media is more than enough. Therefore, what’s happening now is clearly not a small break in Eva’s opinion.

After Kate’s request, the two proceeded to climb out the window of Eva’s room, and be greeted by the other two waiting outside. After that, the four ended up on Eva’s front lawn, with only the view of the sky up above.

The first question on Eva’s mind would be how Kate managed to get Farrah and Chess to not have some sort of clash with one another. She expected the two to not get along the second she arrived to the school’s gymnasium. Something would’ve gone wrong instantly as she stepped in the door, and she was right, just not in the way she expected. What she could’ve remembered from their first cheer practice was those two trying to avoid each other as much as possible. Hell, Eva has never seen those two interact in the slightest up until now.

The second question she has would be Kate. That’s it. Just Kate Dalton themselves. She just seemed quite off, but Eva couldn’t properly point out what was setting them off. Out of all the times Eva has hung out with the other, they generally rubbed off of them as someone who stirs up trouble on purpose, someone whose last words would probably be something sarcastic. Now? Kate’s eerily quiet. Eva noticed the nervous fidgets they’ve been doing, all the worried glances to the side.

As Eva continued their musings, a hand waved in front of them, causing them to snap back into reality.

“Hey, you good?” Farrah sat next to them while Kate and Chess wandered farther, Eva supposed those two needed to talk, so she didn’t bother chasing up to them. “Yeah. Just have no clue why you three are here.”

After a while of silence, Farrah just stared into the sky, then muttered something out.

“We— she was worried about you. Kate, I mean.”

Eva caught onto the other’s sudden change in wording, but instead of letting that go as an honest mistake, she decided to push on with their questioning.

“Worried about what? I’m doing just fine. You really don’t have to fuss over me.”

“I didn’t say I was the one worried, did I?” Farrah quickly defended herself, giving Eva a glare as she ran her fingers through the grass below her. “Also, you definitely look like you need sleep, you’re not looking fine at all.”

“I would’ve gone to sleep after—”

“No, you were pulling an all-nighter. All that coffee isn’t good for you, so just....take a break, alright? It’s not the end of the world if you miss an assignment or two.”

Just as Eva racked their brain to come up with a response, the other two came strolling back, but there was something behind Kate. Desperate all their best efforts to appear as if nothing was behind them, the two on the ground spotted the mysterious object instantly, causing Farrah to let out a deep sigh.

Eva narrowed their eyes and tried to focus into the object, but to no avail. For once, she regrets making their eyes suffer through a whole night of studying, because that meant she couldn’t quite make out what the object was.

“You two really are idiots.” Farrah scoffed at the sight, but she didn’t continue with her interjection as Kate began to speak.

“I....uh...” She began, but without giving Chess a small glance, to which Chess returned with a gesture for them to continue. “I know we haven’t really talked much besides practice, and I’m sure we didn’t exactly give you a good first impression, but you seem pretty out of it recently....so...”

Kate trailed off, and instead revealed what she had been hiding behind their back. As Eva’s vision adjusted onto the object she was holding onto, she slowly realised it had been a plush. A dolphin plush.

“I...won this at a fair not long ago, and I thought it could....cheer you up?”

Farrah winced at all the pauses Kate had in their speech. The gesture was nice and all, but she knew what Kate was trying to do here, and she was not doing a good job at all. Chess appeared to have the same thought, and had began to look to the side as Kate extended the plush towards Eva, who accepted the dolphin plush without much hesitation.

No matter how awkward Farrah and Chess thought the exchange was, the plush and the overall deed managed to bring a small joyous smile onto Eva’s face as she examined the present in their hands.

“Do you....like it?” Kate questioned them as she scratched the back of their neck.

“Yeah! It’s cute, thanks Kate!” Eva replied with a brighter smile than before. A sigh of relief could be heard from both Farrah and Kate, the latter significantly more relieved than the former. “What’re you gonna name it?”

Eva fixed a gaze onto the dolphin plush. What was probably not known by most of the cheer team was that Eva was somewhat of a science nerd. Not the ones who are super into it, as she liked to put it, but there was this one strange habit she had when it came to naming things. After the time she named a couple of small handcrafted dragon dolls after the elements on the periodic table, then proceeded to name the group as “the periodic dragons”, she developed an affinity for naming things after elements on the periodic table. Argon, Chlorine, Silicon, Phosphorus....any element she can think of, she’ll have something named after it.

Well, this dolphin plush wasn’t going to be an exception to this rule. As a couple of seconds passed by, Eva thought of a name that would suit the dolphin plush in their hands.

“Radon.”

If Farrah was drinking something at that exact moment, she would’ve spat out that nonexistent beverage in an instant.

“Isn’t...that an element? A-are you sure?” Chess asked as she was the first to recover from the sudden name reveal.

“Yeah, I mean...I’ve named a lot of things after elements, radon sounds like a cool name.” Eva raised an eyebrow at the question, and just as Farrah was about to say anything about their choice of names, Kate took the chance to express their own opinion on the name. “I think it’s great, really. Just name it what you want! If you’re sure you want to name it that, then go for it!”

After Farrah was once again cut off before she could speak, she just mumbled something under her breath.

“This was nice of you to do, even with...how weird the timing was.” Eva told the three, two of which just gave Kate an indifferent look, instantly blaming them for the bad choice of time without even saying anything.

The four stayed on the patch of grass outside Eva’s house, mostly just to chat and admire the view outside. It was a pleasant morning. With the sudden visit, Eva was finally enjoying themselves. The trio brought them rounds after rounds of bountiful laughter, and they certainly surpassed Eva’s original expectations for how their year would go.

The three of them lifted their spirits quite a bit, but she could never get the thought of their work out of their mind.

Did she deserve the break? She could’ve spent all of this time working on their assignments. Just a quick excuse would get them back on track, she needed to get back.

That thought eventually clouded Eva’s mind as their conversations continued. She opened their mouth a few times to make up a believable excuse, but she could never say it out loud.

Their heartbeat grew faster, the thoughts of them wasting their time outside became worse as time passed. Their shoulders tensed up as just the image of losing their scholarship flashed through their mind.

Their grip on the plush became stronger gradually. She kept on pushing those thoughts back deep into their mind, and just as she was about to try and make a quick exit by spitting out an excuse, a hand placed itself on their shoulder.

Once again, Eva Sanchez was pulled back into reality.

“Eva?” Chess asked, her concern for the other clearly showing in her tone.

“Hm?” She hummed out a response, perking up their head to look at the source of the question.

“You okay?” She asked Eva, and as usual, she just responded with the same phrase.

“I’m fine.”

She couldn’t help but lie.

_She had to be fine._

“You can talk to me if there’s anything bothering you, I’m here for you anytime, alright?”

Eva nodded, acknowledging Chess’s offer.

She wasn’t sure if she’ll ever spill their thoughts out to the girl, but the offer was a pleasant gesture.

One day she’ll finally work up the courage to tell someone what’s wrong. She’ll finally be comforted. Someone will help them get through all this work.

One day, she’ll stop being alone. She’ll have a genuine group of friends who she can trust.

Maybe today is that day.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I name stuff after elements in the periodic table. Don’t judge me :)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Feel free to visit my tumblr (ender1821) where I post updates on my fics :D


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